Handball glove



July 2.1, 1931- E. c. LINDFr-:L'r 1,815,412

HANDBALL GLovs l Filed June 17. 1929 Patented July 21, 1931 UNETED STATES EDWARD C. LINDFELT, OF DES MOINES, IOXVA HANDBALL GLOVE Application filed June 17, 1929.

My invention relates particularly to gloves used in playing handball, and has to do particularly with a peculiar novel structure of the back of a glove, whereby adequate ventilation may be secured without eecting the shapeliness or strength of the glove.

With this and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my handball glove, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a handball glove embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being shown in vertical section; and

Figure 3 is a view similar to that illustrated in Figure 2, showing the glove in a dierent position.

In making gloves like handball gloves, which are intended for wear by athletes engaged in vigorous games, it is highly desirable to provide adequate ventilation.

It has been found quite difficult to accomplish this purpose without detracting from the t of the glove by taking out material in making holes, with the result that the glove would stretch out of shape.

Glove leather, such as horsehide, goatskin and sheeps hide, will stretch in one direction, but will not stretch very much in the other direction.

It is the general practice to arrange the leather in the back of the glove, so that the stretch of the glove is transverse.

I have tried cutting a number of large round holes out of the glove, but this was a complete failure. Enough material was removed so that the glove would stretch laterally too much and would allow too much wrinkling in the front or palm of the glove. This was very undesirable in a handball glove.

Then I conceived the structure lof the glove of the present application.

In the drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally a handball glove having the thumb 12 and the lingers 14.

The back of the glove is indicated at 10a.

Serial No. 371,520.

These gloves are ordinarily provided with two straps 16 and 17 secured at opposite sides of the wrist portion and adapted to be adjustably fastened together by means of a sliding buckle 18.

My present invention involves cutting in the back 10a of the glove a series of rows of slits. The slits are indicated at 20. The

rows are arranged lengthwise of the glove, as

The uncut strips 22 run in the direction in which the glove leather has little or no stretch. The strips 24: run in the direction in which the glove leather has some natural stretch.

By arranging the slits in this way, no material is cut from the glove, and the slits do not change the natural and normal action of the glove back 10a. There will be no stretch lengthwise lof the glove, because of the strips 22, and the sidewise or transverse stretch will be unchanged because of the strips Q4. these slits 20 allow adequate ventilation.

When the glove is on the hand, and the lingers are partially flexed, the slits open and allow the free passage of air.

Yet 8b The opening and closing of the fingers gives a sort of bellows action which contributes to adequate ventilation.

I have tried a great number of experiments to try to secure proper ventilation without interferingwith the normal stretch of the glove back and have discovered that the present arrangement is satisfactory while every other'arrangement I have tried has been unsuccessful.

For instance, I tried cutting largeround I also tried making slits which were staggered instead of arranged in rows in both directions as herein explained, and found when this was done, that the glove would stretch out of shape in a very short time.

It has been common practice in handball gloves to put in the back in the wrist portion a V-shaped gore of leather, which was softer than the main portion of the glove back. I have entirely omitted this V-shaped gore, and have cut from the wrist into the glove back a U-shaped opening, indicated at 2G.

I find that this is much more desirable than the V-shaped gore. Where the gore is employed, the soft leather doubles over when the straps are pulled up, leaving a lump on the back of the hand. This is entirely avoided by cutting the U-shaped opening 26 in the back 10a of the glove as clearly shown in Figure 1. `When such an opening is cut it is necessary7 to provide a somewhat rigid bead or stiifening member 2? to prevent rolling of the edges of the opening 26. It may here b-e noted that this particular combination of U-shaped opening and stiifening bead 27 cause the lowermost portions of the U-shaped opening to approach each other when the buckle 18 is manipulated for tightening the glove on the hand.

Such drawing up of the glove for the purpose of causing the glove to fit the Wearers hand produces a very noticeable buckling of the back 10a adjacent the rounded upper end of the U-shaped opening 26. rllhe upper end of the opening also is quite spread apart as clearly illustrated and therefore provides alarge ventilation opening caused by the packing of glove adjacent the upper end of the opening, the slits 2O merely providing additional ventilation if it is desirable to make the glove with the slit-s. rIhe action of the glove when the wearers hand is flexed produces an alternate inflow and outflow of air through the opening 26 as shown by the arrows 26a.

I have therefore provided a glove which will afford proper ventilation and which will not result in the glove being stretched out of shape. This is done by arranging the slits as shown. By this arrangement, I take advantage of the natural tendency of the leather to stretch in one direction and not to stretch in the other.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a glove for athletic use, a. leather back portion arranged in the glove in such manner that its greater tendency to stretch is transverse, said portion having aY plurality of transverse rows of transversely Aelongated slits, which slits are likewise arranged in rows lengthwise of the glove.

2. In a glove for athletic use, a leather back portion arranged in the glove in such manner that its greater tendency to stretch is transverse, said portion having a pluralityof transverse rows of transversely elon- 

